Mad World
by To.Olympus.Allonsy
Summary: Annabeth stumbles into a strange world, a place she's never seen or knew existed. It was out of the ordinary, and she was desperate to get out. While there, she meets Percy Jackson, a boy who is also desperate to get out. If they work together, will they defeat the troubles in their path and make it out alive? Slightly OOC. This is a re-write of my previous story.
1. Chapter 1

**I promise this will be better. Thanks for sticking around to give this story another chance! **

**~Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan, for I do not own the PJO series.**

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~Annabeth~

Annabeth fell screaming.

Screaming is natural when it comes to fear, especially when you fall and feel that your stomach is near dropping out of your body. She could feel her body being sucked down through the ground, past the dirt and roots of the various plants in the backyard. She watched as they seemed to grow bigger and bigger, just increasing as she kept falling. The light at the top of the hole with she fell from was now beginning to dim, darkening her pathway. Her eyes tried scanning around her, only to find nothing but pitch black. Annabeth had a bad fear of the dark, so this didn't exactly help her calm her nerves.

There was nothing else she could do besides scream and continue falling

Soon, she was sick of her own screeching voice. There was the point in fear where she couldn't even let out a scream. Her fall seemed to slow a bit, and she felt as though she was floating in mid-air. Annabeth took a look below her, and saw that she really _was _floating in mid-air. She stifled a scream. The shoelaces on her converse waved through the breeze, alongside the curls on the top of her head. Annabeth grunted. "Great, I'm for sure gonna get tangles by the time this is over."

The scenery began to shift, turning into somewhere that was out of this world. Annabeth had to do a double take on nearly everything she saw. She entered a scene that looked similar to a house. It was a living room, filled with pictures, furniture, and an actual burning fire place except everything couldn't be more wrong (her OCD was starting to show). Chairs were stacked upside down or even in mid-air, the fireplace burned green, lamps were floating, and there was even a moving picture of a sailboat hung up on the wall. Annabeth liked it at first, seeing how prettily painted it was, up until it decided to splash some salt-water in her mouth.

"Okay, this has got to be an acid trip or something," she mumbled to herself. She was surprised she even said that, she doesn't even do drugs (and she never will). Maybe it just had to be the wackiest dream she has ever and will ever have.

Annabeth got pulled in by and strong suction and everything went black.

When she awoke, Annabeth had tangles in her hair. She annoyingly tried to brush them out with her fingertips, but didn't succeed. Every time she hit a knot it was like getting needles poked in her head. Her heavy lids opened, lazily scanning her surroundings again. Annabeth had always had the habit of taking a good note of everything around her. Ever since she was four, she made miraculous observations that always helped her solve problems. The most recent one was from when last year, when one of the windows of her car had gotten smashed. It was strange, because they had only broken the driver's side window, and no other ones. Her dad just assumed it was a drunk guy walking around, but Annabeth was convinced someone was trying to drive the car away. She insisted to have her father to try to turn on the car, and see if it would actually get up and running. After a million years of persuasion, Fredrick finally gave in. Of course, Annabeth was right. Why would you only smash the driver's side if you weren't trying to drive it away?

This time, it was a different story. Nothing here made any sense or seemed to be right. She took a look up above her only to find that there was some sort of sky. It wasn't a normal, blue, happy and cheery one, it was a pitch black sky of death. Annabeth let out a gasp, for it gave her the creeps. She could feel goosebumps rise on her arms, though the air wasn't cold at all. She moved on the mysterious objects that towered over her. To her surprise, they didn't scare her as much. Elegant, beautiful, overly large flowers surrounded her. She took in the amazement. A sweet smelling scent also pervaded the air, which she assumed came from the flowers as well.

"Annabeth, get a hold of yourself," She banged the side of her head a couple times with her fist, hoping to achieve god knows what. "This is a dream, it has to be a dream," she banged a few times more, til the last time was a little too hard. Every remedy her mom had taught her to wake up was pinching, banging her head, and maybe thinking of something that was insane. Well for one, where ever she was was already pretty insane. Two, that was before her mom had disappeared. It seemed too real around here, yet it still felt like a dream.

Slowly, Annabeth pushed herself up and decided to give this place a good look around.

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**There we go! First chapter all re-written! I hope you liked it! I hope I won't end up abandoning the story the same place I did last time. **

**Review this maybe? Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! Sorry for the long wait, i'm pretty busy with summer classes and all. I was also able to finish the chapter while in China, and I'm halfway done with the next one!**

**~Happy Reading!**  
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~Percy~

Percy was supposed to wake up in the hospital.

Normally, that's what supposed to happen when you land on your head and black out, right? He recalls trying to do some stupid skate trick he saw on TV, to prove to his friends that he could really do it, and that he wasn't chicken. Clearly, it didn't end too well. But hey, at least he was able to prove that he wasn't chicken.

Instead of a somewhat cozy bed, he woke up on dirt. Classy is his middle name.

First, he squeezed his eyes together, rubbing them to wake up better. Blinking out the blur, he stifled a gasp when he saw how creepy the damn sky was. It was pitch black, but it didn't make anything else around him dark. The planets were still bright as day, as if there actually was a sun in that god damn creepy sky. He shook his head like a dog shaking out his fur, hoping to get the dirt he'd picked up out of his glorious, raven hair. Gotta keep it clean. Suddenly, he realized he was missing something: his Superman beanie. His hands frantically circled around him, trying to find his precious hat. As he turned around, he saw it lying beneath an insanely large leaf, only slightly crumpled.

"There you are," he smiled. He picked it up, shaking out the dirt and placed it back onto its usual spot (which, for the record, is his head). Percy had to do a double-take on everything he saw. First the black sky: was it real? Double-take, check. Yeah, for some reason real. Teenage mutant ninja flowers? Real. The fact no one was around him at all: creepy. Percy never had the habit of being alone, he was always with some sort of group of friends of even just a friend. The loneliness was starting to scare him.

"H-hello?" He called out meekly, similar to the squeak of a mouse. Great, how was anyone going to find him? "Hello?!"

Rustling came about towards the planets. Percy's heart quickened. Life-saver or life-ruiner, he'd just have to find out. "Hello? Is anyone there? It'd be kind of nice to get some help right about now!" He screamed. Again, silence. Groaning in annoyance, Percy ran his fingers through his hair. "Noises mean shuffling, shuffling means someone is out there. C'mon I'm desperate here!"

The shuffling struck up again, closer this time. Movement between the mutant flowers became visible, petals falling as the stem swayed side-to-side violently, almost as if an earthquake were happening. Percy stumbled a few steps forward, then decided that was stupid and took another few steps back. He didn't want some kind of mutant creature charging at him, he'd already gotten enough damage to his body. He just hoped this something was nice.

He screamed when that something finally emerged from the forest of flowers, falling to the ground. He shut his eyes, as if expecting an attack. "You can open your eyes, I'm not going to bite," Percy obeyed. It was nothing he expected, but what could he expect here? He gasped when he saw what -or who it was. A girl. Just a normal girl. She had long blonde curls, eyes that made his hair stand, and an attractive athletic figure. Even in just jeans and a t-shirt he thought she looked like a million bucks. She got busy brushing off her shirt, then stared at him with a raised eyebrow as though expecting something from him. "So..."

"So, what?" Percy fired back. She made a face at him, clearly not amused. "Wait, sorry, that-that was a bit rude. Um..." He awkwardly stuck out his hand. "I'm-"

"Save it," she huffed. "I don't do so well with introductions. I have this theory where I believe introductions kind of throw off friendships with people, and the only way to gain life long- or somewhat life long- friends is by getting along before introducing. So let's just wait and see if we get along first, shall we?" Percy hesitated. Normally, he loved meeting and introducing himself to people. Now being fired down? He felt a bit crushed inside. Nevertheless, he still agreed. Plus, he was probably making a stupid face. He kind of lost track of what she was saying thirty seconds ago.

"Um, yeah, okay." This girl was slightly intimidating. He wasn't sure whether to team up with her or get the hell out of here himself. He threw down the latter. "So, do you have any clue where we are?"

The girl sighed, brushing her hands off on her jeans. Percy watched as her t-shirt rose up a bit on her back, and how her ponytail slide to one side when she bent down. He quickly looked away when he realized he was staring far too long. "I've got no clue, buddy. As far as I can tell, this place should not exist. It's almost as if we're trapped in a dream, but...but we're actually awake."

"So, we're hallucinating?" Percy suggested. The girl nodded. She rubbed her chin, as though making a deduction.

"I would say that, yes. However this all seems much too real to be a hallucination, especially since we can make physical contact with the things we're seeing," she demonstrated by rubbing a leaf and gently kicking Percy in the shin. The girl smiled when her point was proven. "To be honest, I'm stumped," she admitted. "I've never been more confused in my life."

Percy agreed silently. He took another few minutes sorting things out. The only real thing he was sure of was the the girl. "You really think we're just stuck in a dream?"

"Like I said, no. This just might be reality..."

"Twisted reality," he scoffed. Percy spotted a large stick nearby. _Oh hey, a walking stick! _He quickly ran over and picked it up, striking it down on the Earth as though he claimed the land as his. "I say we do some exploration!" He boomed in a deep Scottish accent. Deep? To sound manly. Scottish? Because it felt like the right time to be Scottish. The girl laughed, leaving a quirky smile on her face. Percy thought her laugh was cute.

"Alright, Columbus. Let the exploration begin."

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**Sorry is these chapters have been somewhat short, but they'll get longer as time progresses. Next chapter will be up soon! Sorry for the wat!**

**Review this maybe? Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry for the long wait! Trying to juggle a lot of stories at the moment. I think this is going to the story that will be updated the least, so if you want a story that will be updated more frequently, I suggest checking out _Spy vs. Spy, Blood of Olympus: Last Few Chapters, Late Night Thoughts_ and potentially _The Doctor, the Demigods, and the Devils that Scream EXTERMINATE! _if you're into Doctor Who. I'm sorry, but I have like zero to little motivation for this story. It does not mean I will not be updating this, but I will most likely only update once every six months, because it's already been five months since I've updated.  
**

**Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!**

**~Happy Reading!**

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The next ten minutes were constructed of absolute awkward silence with a dash of uncomfortableness. For one, Percy hadn't said a word since their exploration began. Which was surprising because Percy normally had a lot to blabber about. Second, she was so intimidating, he had nothing to talk about anyways. He was afraid she was gonna pounce if he let one wrong word slip.

"So where you from?" She asks. Finally, the silence is broken. Percy sighs in relief silently. "I'm assuming Earth."

"New York," he answers with a smile, ignoring the last part if her question. Percy is a born and raised New Yorker. "Manhattan, to be specific." The girl nods her head approvingly. She stays silent for a little bit, and chuckles to herself. Percy sort of stares at her until she realized what she did. The girl blushed, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"Oh, s-sorry. I was remembering the time I went to New York with my family." She smiles. It must have been a good time to see her smile so widely.

"Did you have fun?" Percy mentally smacked himself. Would she be smiling if she didn't have a good time?

"'Course." She smirked. "We went over winter break; the whole city covered in snow and all. We live in San Francisco so we don't get snow unless you go up top Tilden park in Berkeley. We were all so excited. Especially my little half brothers. They were only about six at the time and they went nuts. We got into a huge family snowball fight and...yeah." She continued to smile, making Percy smile himself.

"You guys must really get along," he guessed. Her smile faded.

"I-it's complicated," she frowned. Percy nodded in understanding, deciding not to ask any more questions about then. "Your family?"

"Just my mom and I," he frowned himself. Percy's expression darkened. Family was always a touchy subject for him and never really talked about it with anyone, the one door that was always shut and locked in his mind. "T-that's it."

"Dad?" Her voice was soft, being careful with what she was saying. She read his expression perfectly. She saw him lose some life in his eyes, turning away refusing to look at her. He kept his head down and profile dark. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it.

"Dead." He whispered. She stifled a gasp trying not to make a scene between the two of them. She had guessed right about not wanting to talk about it though. Still, even though she didn't exactly like her dad she couldn't imagine life without him, much less dead. She wanted to put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, but refrained from doing so because they'd just met.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," she sympathized. Percy remained silent, not wanting to say anything else. He looked at her for a second to find her with a 'hold-on-I'm-thinking-of-something' face. She bit her bottom lip while Percy waited for her to speak.

"I'm pretty sure my mom's dead," she whispered. Percy patiently waited for her to say more if she wanted. Her face had the same look he had when he didn't want to talk about family. It seemed like she didn't usually tell anyone either. Taking a shaky breath, she continued. "When I was seven, she and dad started to not get along. Almost every night, when they thought I was asleep, they'd start yelling at each other. Screaming about how much they hated they other. I cried myself to sleep for the next month." Percy didn't say a word. He remembered what it was like when he cried himself to sleep nearly every night. He'd have heart pained sobs to the point where his mom had to come in and comfort Percy until he was sleeping.

"Then, one day.." Annabeth's voice trailed off, her eyes spacing out and kept gaze on the horizon in front of them. Percy wanted to take her hand, telling her it was okay, and he did. He gently slipped his hand into hers, and her eyes darted toward his gesture. She gave a small squeeze and let go. "She disappeared. Even when she was still living with us, she just vanished."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows in concern and sadness. He mumbled a sorry, because he could feel her pain. They were two teenagers with one real parent left, lost in a world of pain.

Annabeth pursed her lips, stiffening her stance and tried not to let the tears stream down her face, as she's trained herself to do many times before. She does not show weakness to anybody, not to her friends, not to her dad and step mom, _no one._ Only to the reflection of the mirror that stares back at her. Especially since he was a stranger, she couldn't afford to let it happen.

Percy already knew she was trying not to cry, not acknowledging it. His sympathetic side came out, rubbing a hand up and down her back, even as they walked. Annabeth straightened herself out, taking her hair out of her ponytail and pushed it over her head, something she did when she felt she needed to relieve a little stress. Percy gasped softly to himself, finding her beautiful when her hair tumbled down her shoulders. Annabeth caught him staring, blushed, and smirk even with her red eyes that were filled with tears. "What? Cat got your-"

She stopped walking, and looked around the surrounding area. Percy instinctively, wrapped an arm around her waist, feeling like he needed to protect her. She glared at him, and nearly snarled like she was saying, _I don't need protecting_. Especially since she hasn't told him her name yet. Percy held her anyways. "Do you smell smoke?"

Percy sniffed the air, and he _did_. It wasn't very distinct, but he knew it was out there. "Yeah, it's coming from-"

"There." Annabeth pointed in front of them, and she was right. Brightly colored letters were emerging from the trees, eventually losing their original form and disappeared into the air. Annabeth looked at Percy skeptically. "Should we check it out?"

Percy shrugged. "You seem to be the brains, but I've got the bravery." Annabeth forced herself out of his hold and scoffed.

"Oh, so just because I'm a girl, I'm not brave?"

"W-what?! No! T-that's not what I meant at all! I'm sure you're very brave, and I'm not worthy." Percy was freaking out, and even got down on one knee to ask for her forgiveness. "Please forgive me."

Annabeth chuckled, and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we'll see. Anyways, let's go."

Percy got up and joined Annabeth's side, and the two unlikely friends made their way to the next clue home.

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**Well, like I said, I won't be updating this frequently. Just check out any of the stories mentioned above, if you like what you read, you know what to do. See you next update! Whenever that'll be. **

**Review this maybe? Thanks! **


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